I hope more campaigns happen in Australia to fight stigma (elsewhere too but I can't comment on campaigns in other countries). Beyond Blue's campaigns have seem to make it more 'acceptable' to see a GP about depression but the negative I've notice among at least in the age group (18-24yr old) is they now have this, 'Oh yeah, depression is real, but a doctor gives you a pill and it's fine again.' So those that didn't see depression as an actual illness, are starting to now but they still can't 'accept' that is really can disable some people for life. So people are starting to become more educated but we have a long way to go.

I also feel that political correctness makes dealing with stigma harder. In one hand, it protects a group but at the same time, it makes a topic and certain words 'taboo'. We need everyone to feel comfortable to discuss MI freely and that includes the 'scary' parts. Some people around me know MI is real and how serious it can be, but because they've been fine tuned to be careful of terms/topics, they self censor. So in a setting where say, a person suffering from a MI is talking to a friend, the friend may not want to use terms like 'psychotic episode', 'suicidal feelings' etc even when they know the other person is comfortable with it. Instead, they use other ways to sugar coat the real meaning, so the discussion is more hidden messages than open discussion.

So it's made everyone, those suffering from MI and the non-suffers, to have fear in starting a discussion. I think it also makes the terms like 'psychotic' more negative, and I think for some people that suffer, having these terms be 'taboo' also means when they hear it, it hits heavier, it's taken more personally. It hard not to take the many insults out there personally, but taking them on board means we're enabling the ignorant people that use them.

I feel, obviously it varies depending on the situation, that if someone, whether they're being an a-hole or not, goes "So you're crazy!", we shouldn't go on the defensive, "Don't call me things!" rant and instead go, "Sure am! but I think we're defining that term differently, here's why....". Don't take the ignorant people seriously and never take their crap personally. Instead, attempt to positively push information into them.

If they are using terms/statements like 'crazy', 'take your meds' etc the easiest way to disarm them of their ammo and to surprise them is to not take it to heart and to use humor (hell, even sarcasm in moderation. I think to use sarcasm when I'm angry to hide to rage more :P). The minute you turn around and go, "Actually, I did take my meds. I bet I know more about how they work on my brain then you do! Tell me what you know?.... nothing? Hmmm, and you say my brain is the empty one."

Obviously, it's hard to take an ignorant person head on like this but my general thoughts are - They don't 'own' the knowledge or the terms, *you* do. You have the upper hand, take advantage of it when you have a chance, be positive and either the person will have gain knowledge or at least will learn to STFU. ;-)